Five Times
by sixdegreesofseperation
Summary: He's watching the stars and she's watching him./ Or the four times Noel and Aria have sex and the one time they make love. Post 2x25 AU.


The first time they fucked was at his party in May.

* * *

The air was hot and humid and she _just_ had a fight with Ezra. She watched as her boyfriend kept spouting crap about how they could get caught any second and that they could only see each other in his little, crammed up apartment. She understood, she _did._ But there's only so many times you have to keep lying to your parents before you start questioning the importance of your illegal and secret affair. She storms off and out of the apartment and heads for Hanna's house, where they proceed to get ready for Noel's party.

Aria takes a sip of her beer from her cup and watches with narrowed eyes as Noel and Sean attempt to play guitar in their drunken states.

A string snaps and Noel's mouth falls open. Sean makes an 'Oh-oh' sound and then Noel starts laughing.

Hanna who was standing beside her snorts slightly and waves at Spencer. The brunette bites her bottom lip when she sees that Emily decided to tag along to the party. The wounds were still fresh, but thankfully everyone had come out unscathed. Except for Maya, who's body was found just after Mona was admitted into the mental institute.

Aria's phone begins to vibrate against her chest and she quickly takes out of her bra and reads the caller id.

_Ezra_.

She hit's decline and then puts it back in it's original place.

"What's up, Aria? Trouble in paradise?" Spencer asks. Even though her voice takes on a joking tone, she can still hear the worry in her voice. Typical Spencer.

"Just had a fight with Ezra."

Hanna's eyebrows raise higher than she's ever seen and she faces her friend. "_Again_?"

"As if you and Caleb agree on everything!"

"All you and Ezra do is fight and-"

"_Hanna_." Spencer warns her blonde friend who rolls her eyes.

"I'm _sorry_ Aria, but it's true. I don't think I've seen you smile when you talk about him for _weeks_."

"Yeah, well, we haven't really had anything to smile about either way." Aria mutters and instantly feels guilty when Emily's face falls slightly. "I'm so sorry, Emily."

Emily shakes her head and says, "Don't worry about it, Aria. I need to move on."

Aria's heart sinks but she smiles at her friend as she walks away with Spencer to go talk to Sean.

Hanna smiles at Aria reassuringly, smoothes out her dress and goes to look for Caleb, who had promised to take photos in Kahn's photo booth.

Aria stand off to the side for a few minutes and nearly yelps when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around just in time to see Noel lean in closer to her.

"Hey there, Finland," He murmurs and then chuckles. Aria's eyebrow raises as she wonder's what he's laughing at. "How's it goin' with the teacher?"

"He's not a teacher anymore."

Noel's smile re-appears and then he leans in closer. She can smell the distinctive whiff of beer on his breath and his masculine cologne, but she doesn't pull away like she should.

"Well there goes the kink, then."

Aria rolls her eyes and steps away from him, walking closer to the woods. "Screw you, Noel."

She hears his footsteps behind her and then he's pulling at her hand. "Oh come on, Aria. He's _wrong _for you."

"Oh, as if _you_ were ever right for me." She snaps at him and throws her cup onto the ground.

"At least I'm not six years older than you! We didn't need to hide from anyone when we were together. Your parents _love_ me and I was friends with your little brother. I was _perfect_ for you."

She can see that he's getting angry with the way the vein on his neck pops-out and the way he's clenching his fist.

"I'm really sick of people telling me what to do, Noel."

"I'm not ordering you around. _Why_ is it that every single time I date a girl, someone breaks us up, she cheats on me or she's fucked up?"

Aria stills and her lips create a straight line on her face. "And which category do I fit into?"

Noel sighs and drops to the ground, sitting up against a tree. "Neither. You're the kind of girl I can bring home to meet my parents and not be ashamed. The kind that I would gladly cuddle with in public. The kind of girl that's so different that she completely mesmerises me and can hold my attention longer some stupid video game."

She's aware that they're both drunk so she can blame it on the alcohol.

She let's him push her up against a tree. She let's him kiss and bite her neck and doesn't protest when his hand's slide up her thighs and under her dress. She only arches her back and tears his white shirt off.

"Does _he_ make you feel like this?"

Aria bites her bottom lips and sighs. She knows that he's just being cruel now. He's got _every_ right to be cruel.

"Just shut up, Noel."

He smirks against her skin and grabs her leg, making sure it's secure around his hip before he presses closer to her.

* * *

The second time they fuck is in an empty classroom during 'Prank Night'.

* * *

A few of his friends glance at her as she's passing by them with Emily and someone mutters something about her hooking up with Noel.

"How do you know about that?"

She notices that Sean is squirming and she snaps her attention to him.

"No offence, Aria, but who _doesn't_ know? You guys were pretty darn loud."

She gasps and blushed, her hand going to cover her mouth. Noel is walking towards them with Ben, who shoots a reproachful look at Emily. Her friend only smiles back and waves slightly.

"Hey, Finland. Emily."

"_Aria_." She corrects him and shoots him a glare.

Noel's smile only widens and he leans closer. "_Kitten_."

Aria grabs Emily and walks off, determined to forget the damned night in the woods.

She hasn't even told _Ezra _yet. What's worse is the fact that she didn't regret it.

Emily tugged at her arm and Aria turned to face her. "Maybe Noel is good for you."

Aria chuckles once and shakes her head. "Noel is _creepy_."

"Not really," Emily begins, "Since we found out that there was no possible way that he was 'A', there's no reason to avoid him like the plague."

"I _love_ Ezra."

Emily sighs again. "It sounds like you're just reminding yourself. Not that you mean it."

Aria's attention snapped back to her best-friends. "Does it really sound like I'm just trying to reassure myself?"

Emily looked down for a couple of seconds before she looked up and leaned in closer. She nodded once and then lit her torch. "Does he know about the party thing?"

Aria barked a quick laugh. "_No_."

"You _need _to tell him."

Once again, she wonders how she got herself into this situation in the first place. She let's Emily wander off with Toby and Mike and nearly screams when an arm tugs her backwards.

"You ran off _so_ quickly last week."

As soon as she hears his voice, she relaxes. He smirks into her neck and pulls her backwards until she feels his body hit a desk.

"I don't think we should be doing this."

"What you want and what you should be doing are two different things, Aria."

"You're really good at manipulating people, you know that, right?"

He smiles widely and spins her around, grabbing her face and leaning in closer. "So what did your teacher say when you told him?"

Aria's lips curl back into a smirk and she narrows her eyes. "Who says he needs to know anything?"

With that, Noel's smile disappears and he glares at her. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Aria steps back and sighs, her hand reaching up towards her hair as she looks for non-existent knots. "I can't tell him. We've been through so much together and I can't hurt him."

A snort escapes from Noel and he shakes his head. "Are you fucking him too?"

Aria gasps and walks forward, pushing Noel by his shoulder. "Screw you, Noel!"

Noel grabs her forearms and spins them around so that she's pressed up against the wooden desk. "You will soon."

Another gasp escapes her lips, but this time it was a different kind. Just like last week, his lips attacked her neck , his fingers already prying her short black skirt away. He curled it upwards and picked her up, setting her on the table before pulling her forwards and closer to him.

Her small hands try to unbutton his shirt as fast as she can, and when she finally does, she throws it behind her. Noel, on the other hand, isn't as gentle and he rips hers apart.

Aria groans in disapproval and he only hums into her neck, his fingers already trailing up the newly revealed flesh.

"Someone could see us." Aria says quickly and tries to push him away but he stays rooted in his spot.

"Well that's what makes it so exciting."

She grins and laugh breathlessly and let's her hand wander down his chest and into his black jeans. His smile disappears quickly and he bites his bottom lip while he keeps his eyes closed. "Oh shit."

"You're not the only one that can have power over people." She reminds him and he snaps his eyes open.

Noel clears everything from the desk and pushes her backwards until she's laying on the desk. He climbs onto the desk and hovers over her. She notices his flushed skin and the way his breathing is uneven.

"Let's break this desk in." He decides. With that, he tears her panties off and thrusts deep inside her. His face sinks to her neck again and he releases a shaky breath.

She surprises herself when she doesn't imagine anyone but the boy who's heart she broke last year.

When it's over, he sinks down onto the chair and leans back, placing his hands behind his head. He keep his eyes open and watches as she pulls her skirt back in place and turns back around, her arms covering her chest.

Noel sighs and gets up, walking toward the small pile of their clothes. He grabs his black button up and places it around her. He pulls back and watches as she slowly puts her arms through the holes and buttons it up. "You can keep it."

He leaves after he presses a kiss to her cheek.

During the first few minutes that she spent standing there in shock, she realises that he dragged her into her English class, where Ezra used to teach.

* * *

The third time they fuck is in her shower.

* * *

She visits Ezra the following day and tries to act as if nothing had been happening. Her smile falls when he's him usual self and doesn't notice that something is off. She almost wishes that he could _ask_ her if she had been sleeping around with Noel Kahn of all people, but she know that he never will. He's too sure of himself. Too sure that she would never cheat on him even though she had cheated on someone last year, the guy being the one she hooked up with twice now.

She stretches when she gets up from his crappy sofa and hums appreciatively when she feel her bones crack. Ezra laughs lightly at her behaviour and Aria's brows furrow as his laugh fades away.

She meets his eye and gulps when she sees his gaze zero-in on her neck.

"What is that? Did something bite you?"

He stands up, and he suddenly in-front of her his hand moving towards it. She steps backwards and panics when her legs hit the coffee table. "Yeah, a mosquito."

"Wow, they're awfully large. I mean, I remember back when I-"

"I had sex with someone else. Twice. And I liked it." She snaps her mouth shut and she cover's her lips. Just like back when Jason kissed her, she babbled everything out.

"_What_?"

She sees his eyes crazily darting around his apartment before he steps forward and shakes his head.

"Ezra-"

"_Get out!_ I don't want see you here again!"

She quickly grabs her bag and runs out the door.

Back in her comfy house, she releases a breath. Her dad's the only person home. Even her Mum had gone out as it was a rather nice Sunday. She walks forward and collapses in her father's arms, babbling out the whole truth. About how she was still seeing Ezra. About how she had been having conflicting feelings about him. About how she cheated on him. About the way he looked before she ran out of apartment.

He listens to her, rubs her back and tells her that everything would be okay. That everything would fall back into place because they've made it through a lot of events this past year.

"There should be some ice-cream in the fridge. Go up to your room and take a nap. Everything will be alright when you wake up." Byron kisses her forehead and leaves the house.

Aria doesn't take the ice-cream and she doesn't take a nap either. She _can't_. She can't help but replay the sweet moment between her and Noel in her English class and the way Ezra's eyes looked so enraged and crazy when she told him. She let's herself cry for a while before she reaches for her phone and calls Noel.

"Noel? Can you come over? Please."

She hangs up before he can answer and walks downstairs to her porch, where she silently reads _Lolita_ and waits for Noel.

She hears a purr of an engine and sees him exiting his silver convertible. She still remembers that he used to drive it way back before she moved to Iceland.

"Hey, Finland. What happened? Who died?" He jokes before he stops as he sees her blotchy face and red eyes.

"Me. I'm dying inside."

He rolls his eyes dramatically and walks forward. When he sits down and Aria places her legs in his lap, he pulls her closer. "Did someone hurt you?"

_He should have_.

"No."

"Then what's up? Why were you crying?"

Her shaking hands cover her face as she releases a weak breath. "I told Ezra and we broke up."

Noel sits quietly for a while and then he nods. "Well, what did you expect? He hates me."

"Have you been doing this on purpose? Hooking up with me?"

He snorts again and his head falls back. "I could care less what he thinks about me. He's delusional. Did you really think your relationship would work? Aria, we live in the real world. Things like this are frowned upon."

Aria winces at his cruel yet truthful words. "I know. I just thought that as long as we were the only ones that knew, we could just live in our own little world."

His blue eyes meet hers -and holy shit, were they _always_ this deep and blue- and he leans forward. "You'll move on one day, Aria, and you're not going to regret it."

Her bottom lip trembles but she speaks anyway. "Can you just take the pain away? Please?"

She sniffles. A content sigh escapes her when he kisses her. She realises, just then, that the last time they kissed was in the back of his convertible in the parking lot and in front of Ezra.

His large hands wind up in her hair and he leans in closer until she can feel his chest against hers, and she can feel his nose tickle her cheek.

They end up in the bathroom this time, and in her shower. Even though their antics never change -fast, bite, hard, lick- and he's still smug that he can make her feel like this, his lips almost never leave hers. It's the first time she's kissed him this year and she realises that she's missed it. His lips were almost soft yet hard and the perfect moisture between wet and dry.

When they both come undone, they wash off each others fluids and he kisses her again before he wraps her in a white towel. "Do you want me to go?"

He's different than she thought. He _seems_ different. He's actually nice to her and willingly let's himself be the rebound just to make her feel better.

"No."

* * *

The fourth time they fuck, they do it outside again.

* * *

It's another party, where the kids get drunk and high and the Kahn's bring their photo-booth out. Noel graduates that year and Aria realises that she's _really _gonna miss him. She won't be able to see him in the halls again. He won't be there at lunch and he won't be there to walk her to class and carry her books like the dork he is.

Everyone but Noel and Aria go inside to wreck havoc and the two head down to the Kahn's 'ten-million-dollar-pond'. Noel doesn't even wait until everyone is inside and takes all of his clothes off. Aria tries not to admire his toned ass as Hanna lingers outsides and sends her a wink.

Once she sees that the lights are turned on inside, she begins taking her clothes off, glad that Noel's back is to her. Even though they've done it three times now, she still felt embarrassed about him seeing her naked. She wasn't self-concious or anything, but if he were to turn around before she made it into the -_crystal-clear_- water, she would probably turn tomato red.

She relaxes as soon as the water reaches her neck and then sighs, rolling her shoulders. The week had been stressful -what, with all the exams?- and she finally had time to relax without noisy people surrounding her. _Them._

Noel suddenly turns around and walks forward, wearing that smile that makes her knees go weak. "I graduated today. I deserve a reward, don't I?"

Aria smiles shyly and walks forward, eliminating any kind of distance between them. "I _am_ proud of you." She admits and stands on her toes, pressing a quick peck to his lips.

"My dad's taking me around the states to check university's out, so I won't be around as much."

Aria's heart crumbles. She was actually looking forward to spending time with him. They had already planned to take a trip to Spencer's lake house last week, and they were all set-to-go. Hanna was going to bring Caleb and Spencer wanted Toby to come but he had some construction work to do.

"But the lake house-"

"I know." He says quickly. "And maybe we could do it when I get back in August. Or maybe the first week of school?"

Aria's lips turn into a straight line as she keeps the fast-coming rant inside. "Okay. Fine."

_Stop being selfish, Aria. This is his future we're talking about_.

"But anyway, I was trying to convince him to let me study at Hollice. It's close to home and most of my friends are going there anyway."

Aria smiles again and kisses him harder this time. She sighs when he opens his mouth to her and let's him press her closer to his body. Like always, they're completely in sync. His hands are rough and fast against her skin and she tries to make the moment last as long as she can before they have to part for the summer.

After they're done, they get dressed and lay by the pond. He's watching the stars and she's watching him. His eyes dart around and shine as the light reflects above them.

And then, he opens his mouth and ruins it. "I think we should see other people this summer."

Again, her heart aches. It breaks and crumbles into tiny pieces as he watches her reaction. She bites her bottom lip and tries not to cry as she realises that she let herself get too close.

Quickly, she grabs her purse and puts on her heels. Her legs carry her all the way to the other side of the pond before she hears him calling her name.

"Aria! Come on, stop running!"

She turns around and sees him trying to catch up with her, but she jumps into her car and drives away before he can.

* * *

She tries what he tells her. She tries dating other people, tries going out with Holden a few times -and by going out, she means going to the game arcade in Philly- and he kisses her once, but a few days later, they laugh about it and decide to stay friends. Hanna tries to hook her up with Sean, but that doesn't work either because Sean's scared to touch '_Noel's Girl_'. It pisses her off so she slaps him and leaves him to pay for their dinner at an expensive restaurant. When she calls to apologise, he says sorry instead which makes her feel like more of a bitch than before.

Caleb tries hooking her up with Lucas, but that boy is even more closed off than both Emily and her that summer and she doesn't blame him. They start a comfortable friendship and he comes to the Arcade with Holden and her a few times but then stop answering calls and texts and sort of fades from the picture.

She check Noel's facebook profile every week, and every week she sees photo's of him with different girls. He _had_ done his fair share of travelling down the south part's, she realises and wishes she could too, but she always feels like she's cheating on him whenever she thinks of anyone in a dirty way.

She sees Ezra at the supermarket when she's getting groceries with her Mum, and stops in her tracks; just like he does. Slowly, she smiles and waves. Ella does the same and so does Ezra. He brushes past her and Aria almost wants to run after him and beg him to take her back, but then she remembers Noel and the night after she got dumped and let's him pass her without a word.

The end of the summer was nearing and she takes a couple of Art classes at Hollice to distract her urge to call Noel.

He doesn't _deserve_ to hear her voice after he's hooked up with so many girls on his vacation away from Rosewood so she resist the urge.

* * *

She hears of his arrival back in Rosewood from Hanna. She isn't surprised that it's her because Hanna is still the _It Girl_ and she was always on the top of the gossip line. Aria snorts when people begin to talk about Noel like he was some celebrity.

That night, as she's furiously knitting away, she's aware that he's throwing rocks at her window. Her parent's and Mike are out, and she has the urge to let him in and fuck him 'till morning, but she doesn't want to seem desperate, so she walks towards the window and opens it slowly, keeping on a bored look on her face.

"_Finally_. What took you so long?"

He looks different. His hair is cleanly cut and he sport's a stubble on his jaw, making him look all that more manly. He's wearing a white tank top and black jeans.

"I had better things to do." She answers and purses her lips, keeping her eyes on his. On the inside, she hurting and longing to run downstairs and kiss him until the sun comes up, but she restrains herself.

His bright smile disappears and he frowns. "What's gotten into you?"

Aria snorts. "_You_ did. And then you hooked up with fifty other girls while you 'went to look for an acceptable university', while I stayed here trying too fight the urge to jump on the next plane to see you."

"I _told_ you to see other people, Aria, don't blame me for your urges."

"I _did_ try to see other people but I physically _can't_ when you're on my mind! You're on my mind 24/7!"

Noel sigh and rubs his face. "Come down here."

"What?" Aria snorts again and then shakes her head. "_No._"

"_Now_, Aria."

She rolls her eyes and grabs the nearest jumper. When she's out of the house, he roughly grabs her arm and throws her into his convertibles front passenger seat.

Then, he gets in the car and drives away.

"Where're we going?" She asks timidly and he faces her, his face angry and his knuckles white from the force he was holding the steering-wheel with.

"Shut up, Aria."

She gasps and nearly smacks him before she reminds herself that he's the one driving. "Noel!"

"_Aria_!"

"I'm _sorry_, okay?"

He huffs and Aria turns around, not wanting to look at him any second longer. She sees a bouquet of red roses in the back of the car along with two black blankets and an enormous white teddy bear that was holding a giant heart in it's paws.

"I was going to come to your house, apologise and then take you out to the cliffs to watch the sunset, but you just had to open your mouth and start bitching, didn't you?"

She looks down guiltily and yelps when the car suddenly stops. They're on the look-out and Noel narrowly stopped right in-front of the giant rock.

"I'm sorry."

Noel sighs again and then slams his fist against the steering-wheel. "You have _every_ damn right to be mad at me. I shouldn't be blaming you."

* * *

And the fifth time, they make love in the back of his silver convertible.

* * *

Somehow, she ends up kissing him and he kisses her back. She tries to slow things down this time and Noel let's her taker time to properly show him how much she's missed him. She throws his gifts to the front of the car and lays down on the blanket's that he took with them.

Once he climbs to the back, she let's him take the lead and sighs in content when he kisses her gently and whispers his apologies into her ear.

* * *

They watched the sun rise instead, covered in the blankets and talking quietly about their summer. Noel had excluded his hook-ups, but she still included the part where she briefly dated his best-friend and her childhood friend.

He doesn't even get angry. He just laughs at her every miserable-seeming date and murmurers things about how she will always be his.

* * *

_It took me a whole week to type this up! My first Pretty Little Liar fic, and what better to write than my favourite underdog pairing? I really hope they're endgame like they are in the books (:_


End file.
